Those Oldies But Goodies

The grammatical error that appears on Little Caesar & the Romans' original recording of "Those Oldies But Goodies (Reminds Me of You)" provided an opportunity for Nino & the Ebb Tides to correct the lyric on their competing version. Little Caesar & the Romans' version remains better known, but Nino & the Ebb Tides' rendition has sharper harmonies and, of course, lacks the bizarre diction of the former. Mainly a regional phenomenon, Nino and company managed to score a small national hit in 1961 with an update of Glenn Miller's "Jukebox Saturday Night" that rocks where Miller swings. Those Oldies But Goodies is a generous anthology that demonstrates, above all, the group's creativity in devising interesting and unusual vocal arrangements. They could mimic the Four Seasons on a song called "Four Seasons" and drop ear-catching stutters and whoops into songs like "Wished I Was Home" and "Franny" without ever sounding like a novelty group. "Automatic Reaction" is a remarkably fierce rocker that shows the group's willingness to grow and explore new styles as the '60s wore on, although the experiment was short-lived. The collection includes stacks of singles, acetates, and demos along with a handful of sides the group recorded with other artists, and concludes with a recent recording of Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" performed a cappella, proving that the group still has it.